Boys to Men

Yesterday it has officially happened. The Arsenal so called boys are now men. Arsenal yesterday took apart Chelsea for the first time in a very long time. Full Time score, Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1

Being an Arsenal fan I have been through a lot since starting to support them. Mind you I have not been an Arsenal fan for a long time. It's been around 6 or 7 years and considering I've supported Ahly all my life and AC Milan since the early 90's it is brand new. I have yet to see them lift a trophy as a full fledged supporter and a club member. The closest I've come was the League Cup final when our reserve team lost to Chelsea's full team 2-1 (can't recall the year) and the Champions League final against Barca. Year after year I saw us fail to reach our true potential. Year after year I saw critics pounce on the Wenger and Arsenal philosophy. We need to buy ready made stars, nurturing youth is not working, we need to spend big in the market. Wenger had said no to all of this and yesterday at last he had something to smile about.

It was not just the fact that we beat Chelsea that was pleasing, it was the way we did it. Yes Chelsea are not on form but on any given day a team that has the likes of Cech, Terry, Essein, (Lampard) and Drogba is a force to be reckoned with. Wenger was gutsy to decided to shuffle things around. Tactically we did not change how we line up but the players involved were put there for Chelsea. Wenger played it right. Obviously Cesc and Fabianski back to the starting line up was a no brainer. In my opinion if Cesc is fit he should not leave the pitch. He is this kind of player, he can conjure up something out of nothing. His presence lifts the people around him. He is still lacking form, too many miss passes by his standards but then all of a sudden the killer pass or killer run and no one remembers his short comings. Yesterday he scored a goal and made one, what else could you ask for?

Playing Walcott was a surprise for me. He was not getting enough minutes and was not on that great of a run, form wise. It seems that Arsene has had enough with Arshavin, frankly I'm starting to get annoyed too. He is not putting in enough effort and seems uninterested at parts. He is a world class player talent wise but world class players show up every game, not every other game or when they feel like it! Theo was there for a reason. To keep Ashley Cole lodged back and to frighten the some what slow Chelsea center backs. In the first half he was not great but he did keep Cole at bay. Ashley never ventured forward. The second half he got room to run behind Cole and the Chelsea defense thanks to some excellent midfield pressure (our midfield was fantastic but I'll come to that later) and he ripped them apart. First laying off unselfishly a tap in for Fabregas and then finishing off brilliantly after being put through by the Fabregas via a killer through ball.

The real surprise from me was the central defense paring of Djourou and Koscielny. I think Djourou should be a starter, hes been fantastic and gives much needed height to our defense. I'm not sure if there was something wrong with Squillaci but Wenger saw that Djourou must be better equipped to deal with physical presence of Drogba. He was right and Djourou was very solid in containing the Drogs. Koscielny was there probably to add some pace to the core because frankly I'm still not convinced by him, although I think he was very good in the last two games vs top opposition. It is against the Stokes and the Birminghams that he is still prone to errors but in his defense he is still adjusting to the league.

The center midfield paring of Song and Wilshere were phenomenal and they were one of the main reasons we won that game. For once we bossed around the midfield. They dominated Essein, Mikel and Lampard who on paper should eat them alive. Wilshere who is still a boy was a titan and Song did his new job (scored a goal) and kept true to his main role as a destroyer. They out played, out passed, out ran, out muscled and out scored Chelsea!

Overall Arsenal was better. We dictated the pace of the game and were more aggressive. Also and more importantly we won most of the duels and 2 of these lead to goals. Van Persie gives something different to the team than Chamakh. He has a softer touch so easily maintains the rhythm and seems to know the other player more. He also adds a fear factor when in the team. Chamakh has been excellent and is a truly wonderful signing but on his day I would pick RVP over him. However Chamakh will get there and having a bench that includes him, Arshavin, Diaby, Bendtner and Rosicky shows us that for once we have a very strong overall squad. There is also Vermaelen still missing due to injury and if he plays with Djourou I think we will leak less goals. I am ecstatic however not to be seeing Almunia and frankly I wish I never have to see him again. I have to mention Nasri, although he was not a goal scorer he has been our player of the season thus far and possibly the best player in the league. It is good for him to be able to share the weight of the team with Theo, Cesc and RVP. Sagna too has been excellent but for me our weakest link has to be Clichy. He is not as good going forward and defensively he seems to be playing football for the first time. He has no sense of danger and that is a huge problem for a defender, the goal Clark scored for Villa will always be proof of that.

This win however will mean nothing if we go and lose to Wigan on Wednesday. We need to be consistent and although I'm pessimistic about actually winning the league I am hopeful. I think we should win the league cup at least this season to get the "not winning trophies monkey" off our backs and off the back of the players.

Most of all I am happy for Arsene Wenger. He has had to put up with criticism from every one and to defend his players and the club philosophy day in and day out. I'm looking forward to playing Evra the clown at the Emirates and watch Theo rip him to shreds like he did Cole

Come on Arsenal!

Cesc to Stay at Arsenal

Eat this Barca!

Barcelona as a whole have really rubbed me the wrong way during all of this! The players calling out Fabregas to go home and asking Arsenal to let him get his dream move. Then the administration publicly saying that they want him. At the same time they are cheap enough to offer less than 40 million Euros although they forked up something similar fro a 28/29 year old David Villa.

I'm glad this ordeal is over for now and if they want Arsenal's captain they might as well pay up for one of the best midfielders in the world. And yes he's only 23!

Hats Off to Mr. Wenger for coming out on top in this ordeal and I'm sure his closely knit relationship with Cesc was key in convincing the Spaniard to stay

Cesc Said this earlier:

"Firstly, I would like to apologise to all the Arsenal fans for not speaking sooner about my future but I have not known what I was going to do until this moment"

"I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me.

"This was the club where I learnt my football, it is my home town where my friends and family are and a club where I have always dreamed of playing.

"There are not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona.

"I have had many conversations with Arsene Wenger both in person and over the phone over the last few months and although the content of those conversations will remain private, the conclusion is that Barcelona have had two formal offers rejected by Arsenal."

"I am an Arsenal player and as soon as I step out on to the pitch, that is the only club I will be thinking about. I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting this speculation behind me."

"I am a professional and I fully understand that it is Arsenal's prerogative not to sell me," he added.

"I owe a lot to the club, manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and will now concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal."

Come on Arsenal

Champions League Last 16 Thoughts

Yesterday saw the conclusion of one half of the last 16 matches. Man United qualified to the Quarter final with an impressive 7-2 aggregate win over AC Milan. The United faithful are ecstatic and so they should but lets not put things out of proportion. Yes on Wednesday night United out played and out ran Milan but frankly at the end of the day the score line in both legs is very flattering.

At San Siro Milan dominated most of the game and could have been 2 or 3 up before Scholes equalized with a fluke just before half time while Antonini was out injured and unable to prevent the cross coming in (Seriously it seems to me United are the luckiest team in the world). United then capitalized on that stroke of luck and scored two good goals. At the end Milan could have equalized but luck stayed on United's side. At Old Trafford Milan should have scored twice in the first 15minutes, how different of a game it would have been then had AC Milan scored first. Huntelaar missed a howler and frankly this is his last straw with me. He missed a one on one at San Siro and couldn't have had an easier chance last night. I now realize why Real were eager to sell him. He just can't cut it at the top teams who need to win day in and day out. Borriello also looked a bit light weight but he had no help. It seems obvious that a World Class Striker should be the top of their shopping list come the summer. Dzeko is the man I think. Man United got to play against half a defensive line with AC missing Nesta, Antonini and ultimately Zambrotta. The ones that actually played have not started a game once with each other. Also Milan's one super talent was also injured, Pato. In the second half Leonardo went for broke knowing he had to score three goals and Fergies men ripped AC Milan to shreds on the counter. Good win for Manchester but not as good as they will make it out to be. Anyways I think it is beneficial for the Milan hierarchy to wake up and smell the roses. Milan need re-enforcements.

In the other game of the night an arrogant Real Madrid took on a disciplined hard working Lyon side. Sergio Ramos had the audacity to predict a 3-0 win against Lyon before the game. I bet he's eating his shoe now let alone his words. An early goal by Ronaldo seemed to put Real on their way but missing a number of easy chances and overconfidence born out of arrogance made them throw the game away. As long as it was 1-0 Lyon were in it, and they kept grinding until finally they grabbed an equalizer late in the game via 19 year Old Bosnian Pjanic. Real were out. Congratulations are in order for Claude Puel and his men and as for Real, let the circus begin, Barca will win La Liga:P

It might be the first time ever that we have two French Teams in the quarter final of the champions league. Bordeaux play at home holding a commanding 1-0 away win over Olympiacos. Bordeaux are the break out team for me this year. After dispatching Juventus and Bayern with great ease to top their group they continued were they left off. Olympiacos are poor on their travels and a professional and determined Bordeaux side lead by the vibrant Gourcuff (couldn't Milan have used him yesterday?) should make it to the quarter finals with ease. Both French clubs will provide a strong test for any team they come against. I'll be secretly rooting for them:)

Inter and Chelsea is the other crunch game next week. I think both Seville and Barcelona will qualify with ease unless we see another shocker like that of Lyon. Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with something he likes best, a lead. A win against Chelsea in Milan is a good result especially with the kind of squad he possess. In my opinion he has one of the best strikers in the world at the moment in Milito. It is very difficult to eclipse Samuel Eto'o but he has done that with ease. Maradona would be crazy not to have him in South Africa. However, make no mistake this is not going to be easy. Ancelotti has been there a number of times before. This is what he does best. He also has a brilliant squad capable of destroying any team. Carlo was the one to over turn a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford when with Milan to a 3-0 destruction at the San Siro with a full United squad that included both Rooney and Ronaldo. United faithful have a short memory, yes I'm a bit bitter. It will be too close to call but one thing is for sure, it's going to be a cracker.

On Tuesday night Arsenal put on a virtuoso performance. Destroying a good Porto side 5-0 to over turn a 2-1 defeat at the Dragao. This was a classic Wenger display. The slick lethal football that the Frenchman demands of his team every game. It all fell into place beautifully, even with an injured Fabregas. The likes of Nasri and Arshavin stepped up and Porto frankly had no clue what hit them and who was causing the havoc. Nasri scored a Maradonish goal and Bendtner scored a hat rick to redeem himself after a poor showing at the weekend. On their day Arsenal are unstoppable. Wenger has a right to be happy. He wants to play Man Utd or Chelsea in the quarters, is he mad? He is always logical and pointed out that his team can't possibly play any worse than they did during the season against their two rivals....umm OK Arsene. There is reason for concern too as for some parts of the game the Gunner defense seemed a bit uneasy and you could feel that against tougher opposition in might be dangerous.

The last game that night was a cracking one. Fiorentina were robbed from a draw at Bayern when a "blind" linesman allowed a clearly offside Klose goal. He was 3 meters offside at least. 2-1 it finished. The viola started out brightly in Florence by taking a 2-0 lead but the experience and sheer talent in the Bayern Munchen squad proved to be decisive. Van Bommel scored first to make 2-1 then Robben broke the hearts of Firoentina when he scored an unstoppable shot to make it 3-2. Bayern went through on away goals and misses from Gilardinho could have changed the game. However, ultimately the Viola have a right to feel aggrieved and it will leave a sour taste in their mouth having gone out by a clear offside. Technology in football anyone?, hell no I say. It will take half the fun and debates out of the gorgeous game.

The quarter finals draw will be very interesting, we just have to get through next weeks games.